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Serial Port IR Blaster issue - what is using the serial port
http://forum.linhes.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15771		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Das Hammer [ Tue Jul 03, 2007 8:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Serial Port IR Blaster issue - what is using the serial port
I have done the "Auto Install" for R5F1 (several times) and select "No Remote" and select "Yes" to the question if I have a serial IR Blaster. Then, when it asks which port it is on I select COM1 because that is the port I have it connected to.

However, the IR emitter is constantly lit, which indicates the serial port is in use by something.
First, I removed the Serial Mouse device from /etc/X11/xorg.conf and rebooted.

Then I read from here http://www.mysettopbox.tv/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=15233 , particularly post #4. I added those two lines to my /etc/init.d/bootmisc.sh, rebooted, and still no dice.

I also checked my BIOS settings and made sure that COM1 was set to IRQ4 and 3f8 (standard from what I gather). I then checked the sys/module/lirc_serial/parameters/io to make sure it was set at 1016 (for 0x3f8) and checked the irq at /sys/module/lirc_serial/parameters/irq to make sure it was set to 4. Both of these were set correctly.

The motherboard (Asus M2NPV-VM) does not have a serial port mounted, but it has the pin headers for two. I attached the "Serial port on-a-stick" to the COM1 pin header. It is just a db9 port on a bracket so you can mount it in an empty slot in your case. I suppose there is always the remote chance that this could be wired incorrectly, but I tried two of them and same result.

I also checked this by monitoring the voltage on the pins of the serial port. The voltage did not change when I executed /etc/irblaster/channel_change.sh 1234567890

My IR emitter does not output visible light, but I checked it with a digital camera and it was indeed constantly lit up.


Questions:

1) Did I miss anything? Is there something I haven't listed above that I should really try?

2) If something does have a stranglehold on my serial port, what do I need to do to seek and destroy?

Thanks!!
Author:  tjc [ Wed Jul 04, 2007 7:20 am ]
Post subject: 
Did you try running fuser on the ports to see if they were in use and by what program? For more details:
Code:
man fuser
Author:  slowtolearn [ Wed Jul 04, 2007 7:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Serial Port IR Blaster issue - what is using the serial
Das Hammer wrote:
The motherboard (Asus M2NPV-VM) does not have a serial port mounted, but it has the pin headers for two. I attached the "Serial port on-a-stick" to the COM1 pin header. It is just a db9 port on a bracket so you can mount it in an empty slot in your case. I suppose there is always the remote chance that this could be wired incorrectly, but I tried two of them and same result.
Did you get the cable from Asus? There are 2 different standard pinouts for COM headers, see http://hardware.mcse.ms/archive69-2005-4-177089.html and make sure you are using the correct one (should be the Intel IIRC).
Author:  Das Hammer [ Wed Jul 04, 2007 8:12 am ]
Post subject: 
tjc wrote:
Did you try running fuser on the ports to see if they were in use and by what program? For more details:
Code:
man fuser


I ran fuser /dev/ttyS0 and it returned a pid of 3614

Turns out Xorg was using it. I previously deleted the *section* involving the serial mouse, but I did NOT notice that it was still included in the devices list in /etc/X11/xorg.conf

I removed that, performed a restart and ran fuser /dev/ttyS0 again and nothing was returned. My IR emitter is still ON all of the time.

This leads me down to slowtolearn's post about the header. Upon reviewing what was purchased, I see that we received the "cross-configuration" (null modem?) instead of the straight through. I did not order from Asus, but from a more local source. www.cablestogo.com is where I picked them up from. The had two, the one I got and one that was $3 more which was labled "For Intel Motherboards".

I'm taking the kids to the lake right now, but I'll break out the meter tonight again to check what we really have here as far as how the pin-outs are on the serial port.

Thanks, guys for getting me on track.
Author:  Das Hammer [ Thu Jul 05, 2007 6:58 pm ]
Post subject: 
In short, we have success!

Yes, I did have the incorrect assembly for the COM port on my Asus board. With the help of slowtolearn's link and some googling, I was able to find out what I needed to do to correct the situation (without buying anything else). I had a spare male DB9 plug and wired it up to one of the headers that I had. Works perfectly.

:D ^2
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